Just Blink
by CatalystSong
Summary: This is your 'side story'- just paragraphs a day, every day. Something you can read on the side or just binge on in the weekend. Catalyst- or just Cat- is Sherlock's daughter. (Sherlock is away doing another case, so you don't hear much of him) Lylan, Cat's best friend, is dead, but there's something weird about it.. something off. This is also 'White Space' and 'Wintergirls' too.
1. Prolouge

Lylan Anderson woke up to loud ringing, so high she was amazed Tiffany, her dog, wasn't already barking.

That's when she realized it was coming from _her_. She looked around the room, blinking rapidly as if something was in her eye. Her room seemed so foreign, so _odd_, and she didn't know why.

_Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. _

She commanded herself, trying to be convinced of that fact that nothing was happening. But something was, she knew it. Something was off, triggering a loud, blaring red alarm in her mind. Lylan tried to move, but she couldn't. Was she _paralyzed_?

_Breathe. _

And then, she blinked.

_Blinked._

As quick as that, she was gone.


	2. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! Basically these are short "side" stories that you can read every day (I post around 4~ish) sometimes only a sentence long (sorry) Review!**

* * *

Catalyst Homes stood at the back of the line, feeling nothing. No tears, no grief, nothing to show that Lylan, her best friend, was dead. Instead, she watched her mother hug Lyle's, weeping in their arms. It's like her body couldn't process death.

For some reason, this made her angry. To see the kids at Denton High they hated come here and cry, asking for pity. Like they cared. She wanted to scream, "You didn't even _know _her!" but she kept her mouth shut and controlled herself. She stayed calm.

At least, until she saw the body.

Lylan was covered with a weird plaster, almost, and wore a dress she was sure Lylan would have hated. She saw her eyes blink open, changing something about her.

Catalyst lost it, to put it lightly.

She kept her head down until she was out the doors- and ran. The chilly wind made her shiver and momentarily consider doing back to get a jacket, but the thought was gone in an instant. Thousands of thousands of petaflops of thoughts came to her, the wind blowing it away before she could read each one. She sprinted, on and on, fueled by her seer fury at… nothing. An insignificant yet practical part of her warned her that she didn't know where she was going. The annoyed part dismissed that quickly and yelled at her to run faster. She did.

Finally, she settled on a tall rock (an easy climb) overlooking Squackanuq lake- the same one Lylan and she visited every summer, she realized. _Lylan, _she mourned. Grabbing her phone from her pocket, she texted Lyle, asking what to do.

_As if she'd reply, _the wind seemed to sneer, but she did it anyway.

_Where are you? Are you dead? Call me. Lyle? Lylan? Can you hear me? _

Sure enough, no reply. She just yelled at the breeze, telling it her friend was dead, telling it to shut up, stop the leaves from touching her body. _You're going insane. _she muttered to herself. Cat jabbed the earbuds on and pressed a random playlist to tune her thoughts out.

_...look into my eyes/ It's where my demons hide. _

She froze. It sounded familiar, so familiar that she swore she saw it. She rewinded and listened to the same sentence, over and over again, until it lost it's meaning.

Then, she got it.

_Lylan's eyes. _The deep crimson red, the color of blood, the color of her unnaturally shaded eyes. Not the midnight black that contrasted her ghostly pale skin, not the one that matched her straight, shiny black hair with bangs. Not the eyes she knew.

"Lyla?" she asked, raising her head from her hands.

Oh no.


	3. Chapter 2

Lyla was alive, she knew it.

"Lyle!" she calls, but only the birds and the trees hear her. "Lylan Anderson!"

The leaves rustle, almost in response.

_Heeeere I ammmm. _

She stopped, mid-stride. She whipped her head back and forth, not minding that her hair slapped against her face every time.

"Lyla?" she asked, softly this time, like she was afraid of the Lyla-ghost.

_I'm not deaaaad, don't you worryyyy….._

She couldn't pinpoint where the sound was coming from. The low hiss seemed to echo around the lake, booming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. The water rippled and the first raindrops began to fall from the sky. The light drizzle energized her, but in a different way than the anger had. This was different- as if every drop would reveal a clue on where Lylan was, a secret buried deep into the innocent, fragile thing she shared her childhood with.

She had to go.

Quickly dialing the only two numbers she could count on, she leaves.

_Sorry, Juliandra is not available right now. Uh, leave your number. _

Whatever. Julie wasn't her first choice anyways.

She held her breath as she called William, begging him to pick up.

"Cat? Aren't you supposed to be at the funeral?" he asks, genuinely surprised.

"Aren't you?" she challenged, then instantly regretted it. She could hear the hurt, even though he was probably too stunned to reply. "Sorry, I didn't mean that. I need your help."

"Wait, with what?" The hurt was now replaced with concern.

"Trust me, I need to tell you in person. It's a long story."

"Okay. You're at the rock, aren't you? Give me 10 minutes."


	4. Chapter 3

She could see a dark silhouette- _probably Will, _she decides, judging by his awkward height: tall and lanky in his nerdy glasses that he pushed up so much it was annoying,'daily beanie' and skateboard in one hand. He was probably the weirdest guy she ever met.

"Cat?" he asks, searching for her. Then, his eyes land on the rock, and he sighs. "Okay. Tell me all about this."

"Well, I have a feeling Lyla's not dead. As in, either pseudocide or kidnapped."

"If it was pseudocide, she wouldn't want to be followed by _anyone_. Unless it's both- like she has a stalker and had to get away? Then they kidnapped her? No, no! Aliens! That's the answer! Or what if-" Will rants, starting to get caught up into the story.

"Likely story, Sherlock." she interrupts. For a guy with all AP classes- like her, that is- he never liked to obey Newton's laws of physics. "Let's focus down to earth. They said it was a heart attack… but they weren't sure. Besides, that's not her. She _blinked_, Will. She _blinked in the grave._"

"Hey! It's possible! I read it in a book!" he protests. She smile. Will has always made her crack up. He probably didn't know the last thing she just said.

"Of course you did. _You _and _reading_. Yeah right." I say sarcastically. "You mean, in a sci-fi fantasy fiction novel. And I thought you were more of a physics guy!"

The rain which she forgot was there is starting to get harder, and she shivers a little. He drapes his leather jacket onto my shoulders, and I mutter a "thank you" before getting up.

"Come on. The funeral-" she quickly checks her phone for the time "-is just over. Hopefully it's unlocked so I can grab my stuff."

They sprinted over, Cat beating him by a step, and grab the stuff. She quickly catches her breath and takes off again.

"Don't you want to pack or something?" he asks. She looked at him plainly.

"_Lyle. Paariss._" he sounds out, waving his hand in front of my face. "Hello?"

"Why Paris?" she asks dumbly.

"I have a feeling. Remember what the note said? Right before she died?" _That. _The one lying in her trash can which she threw away while organizing.

"Can you remember what it said? I kinda threw it away…" she let her voice trail off.

"'I've always wanted to go to Paris! Anyways, I for a book for you, Cat. About kidnappers in Paris. It's AWESOME!"

_Parisssss _the hissing noise from the wind agrees.

"You hear that?" asks Will, his head jerking up. _Oh yeah. Forgot to tell him that. _

"Yeah. And that's only the beginning." she sighs. It was going to be a long story.


	5. Chapter 4

" 'Kay. Got the first flight to Paris. Packed up, meet you there in an hour. Told my parents it was for a school thing. Convinced the principal, too. Don't worry, I covered you too." she explains, phone pressed against her ear, checking the boarding schedule.

"You're _good_." Will replies in admiration and amazement. She smirked.

"I know."


End file.
